ACM Celebrates Iberoamerican Heritage Month 2024

"Language as Inclusion or Exclusion: Can Artificial Intelligence Make a Difference?"

Date: October 23, 2024

Time: 5 to 6 PM EST

Platform: Zoom Webinar

Description: In celebration of Iberoamerican Heritage Month, also known as Hispanic Heritage Month, ACM is hosting a panel focused on language inclusion in the computer science field. The discussion panel, “Language as Inclusion of Exclusion: Can Artificial Intelligence Make a Difference?” explore ways to reduce language barriers in computer science and how AI can address these disparities in underrepresented languages. Moderated by Indira Guzman, the panel will feature Franci Suni, Vinicius Pereira, and Nayat Sanchez-Pi. The panel will take place on October 23, 2024 at 5 PM EST. Register on Zoom.

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Moderator

Indira Guzman
Dr. Guzman received a B.S. and a M.S. in Computer Science Engineering from Donetsk National Technical University in Ukraine, a M.S. in Information Management and a Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology and from Syracuse University. She has a decade of industry experience in information technology (IT) management and compliance in banking, and sixteen years of academic and administrative experience in online doctoral programs in business and information systems. Dr. Guzman is a Fulbright alumnus and an active member of the Academy of Management, the Association of Computing Machinery SIGMIS Computers and People Research, ISACA, and the Association of Information Systems. She currently serves as the 2021-2023 President of the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter of the Association of Information Systems. She is also a research consultant for the 2022-2025 research project entitled "Latin American Open Data for Gender Equality Policies Focusing on Leadership in STEM" funded by the International Development Research Centre in Canada for the Gender in STEM Research Initiative aimed to reduce the gender gap in IT leadership in Latin America.
 

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Panelists

Nayat Sanchez-Pi 

Nayat Sánchez-Pi holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Universidad de la Habana and a Ph.D. in Artificial Intelligence from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, for which she received an Extraordinary Doctorate Award. She was a professor at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, associated with the Applied Artificial Intelligence research group from 2005 to 2012, and a visiting researcher at the Universidade de Lisboa in 2009 and at University College Dublin in 2010. From 2012 to 2015, Nayat became the scientific director at the Instituto de Lógica, Filosofia e Teoria da Ciência in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leading and coordinating major R&D projects in areas such as artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, and the Internet of things, implemented at Petrobras. From 2015 to 2019, she was an Associate Professor of artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction at the Universidad del Estado de Rio de Janeiro, where she founded and co-led the Research Group on Artificial Intelligence and Optimization. Additionally, during that period, she joined Inria as a senior researcher in the TAU project-team at the Inria Saclay Centre. Her research interests encompass artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of things, ambient intelligence, and human-computer interaction. Her scientific career is distinguished by extensive international experience and a focus on applied research.

 

Franci Suni

Franci Suni is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Lima, where he leads the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. His research focuses on affective computing and developing AI algorithms to detect human emotions, with the goal of improving the adaptability of software services. He also works on human-media interaction, particularly using social robots to engage with people, and explores the use of persuasive technologies to promote behavior change.

 

Vinicius Pereira

Vinicius Pereira holds a PhD and Master's in Literary Studies from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and completed a postdoctoral research at the University of Nottingham (UoN), UK. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Letters and research supervisor of the Graduate Program in Language Studies at the Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT). Pereira is leader of the SEMIC (Contemporary Semiotics) research group and member of the DAVI (Data Beyond Life) research group. He was also a former editor of the "Culture and Critique" column in SBC Horizontes journal. His main areas of research are: Literature, Media, and Technology; Electronic/Digital Literature; Digital Art; Human-Computer Interaction; and Semiotics.